'He brought laughter': Remembering the sport's lost great a score of years on.

All the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was practice the game.

A love for the game, caught at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a professional career that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

The present year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years.

But in spite of the loss of a generational talent that transcended the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the sport and those who followed his career remain as vibrant now.

'He just loved it': Early Beginnings

"We'd never have known in a billion years our son would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum states.

"Yet he just adored it."

His dad recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a child.

"His dedication was constant," he adds. "He practiced every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from home play with great skill.

His raw skill would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to carving out a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in the early 2000s.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

"If you met him you'd like him," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'A Sporting Icon'.

Courage in Crisis: Illness and Resilience

In that year, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple accounts from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he died in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country.

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas dropped significantly.

"The goal was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children all over the world.

"He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated.

Forever in Memory: Two Decades On

Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him".

"I can access it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, begins later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy.

But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.